HELP me surprise my DD6!

[jewelmicky]

Thanks for all the help!

I have decided .... maybe.........She knows we are going "sometimes" when school lets out for the summer. So, she has helped with the planning....without really knowing it!

Our ME packet came on SAT! Guess who got the mail? "What's this Mommy?"
I had to do a bit of fast talking for that one!

I think I will torture her a bit longer.....if I can wait, I will do the trunk surprise at the airport.

 

[RN4Babies]

My son knew about our trip last month, but I surprised dd8. She was so excited she wet her pants!! Moral of the story; surprising is great, and have an extra set of clothes for your dd in your carry on luggage.

 

[lucynme]

we surprised our DS a few years ago and it was worth it. we had to leave our house at 4am to get to the airport and catch our 6 am flight so at 330 I went into his room with a video camera and told him it was time to get up...he was so confused and wondering why he was getting up in the middle of the night. ..so we told him...we have to catch out flight to WDW....he started to shake he was so excited ...he couldnt believe it...we will never be able to top that surprise.
HAve a great trip!

WELL!!! I am so glad I stumbled on this thread!!! This trip is also going to be a surprise for DS5. He has been asking when we can go back, and all the commercials aren't helping. It is getting harder and harder seeing his face when we say, "I don't know, we'll have to see". Well, we only go on a plane to WDW, Grandparents, or an Aunts, and the later two wouldn't matter. We leave at 6:15am, and were going to just put off answering the "where are we going" 500 times while on the plane and let him figure it out. But I think that would lessen the surprise effect. I am SO liking the waking him up at 3:30am, video camera in hand to get his reaction! Thanks so much!!!

 

[sigmasal]

I love the trunk idea - that is so cool...maybe we'll have to copy you...one of our other thoughts was having a "breakfast" party when we wake them at 4:00am to get ready for the airport - have a banner at the dining room table and streamers, etc.
We are sleeping at our friends' the night before (the family we're going with) because they live much closer to the airport. We have been playing "Disney" games with them a lot...one night at dinner with them, I said, If I ever win the lottery, I would take you all to Disney with me...it springs up a conversation of what do you want to do when you are there....and If you ever get to go to Disney World, which princess would you want to meet?, etc...so we've kind of been stirring up excitement but the older kids have no idea that we're going. The 2 & 3 year-old know but don't know if you know what I mean. They're around when we're doing all the planning.

 

[princess&her4princes]

Oh definately surprise her!!! We surprised our boys in '07 and it was the BEST!!! When we put the boys to (early) bed, we told them to get a good night sleep cause were going on an adventure the next day! So they went fast to sleep, we packed the car (since we had to wake them at 4 a.m....when we got them up, we headed to the airport and they were SO excited! I told them they'd get a 'hint' when we got on the plane...so, once seated, I had made up "Disney" goodie bags with activities from the dollar store, lots of Disney crayons, tatoos, picked up some Disney (Cars) fruit snacks, some juice cups shaped like characters and my oldest guessed it! It was the BEST!!!! Hold out, you won't be sorry!!! Good luck and have a great trip!!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Whether surprising your kiddos will work or not is truly more about your child's personality and what would work for THEM. My DD would not have responded well to a surprise for a first trip. She needs to be prepared for things. So she knew we were going to Disney every time we went- she just didn't know WHEN. She got to join in the planning, vote on restaurant ADRs, and help pick out her Disney wardrobe. THEN, Tinkerbell would come and leave some gifts and then she would know that it's Disney day.

This time is truly going to be a surprise- she thinks we aren't going because she starts school this fall and we always go in Sept. BUT we are going in October for her 6th bday instead. Because she has been so often and knows what to expect, we think she'll be able to handle the surprise at this point.

 

[bonybroad]

We were planning a trip for May, and decided against it. We had already told the kids we were going, and then had to tell them we weren't going. We were worried about the economy and such, so we told them that we had to save our money right now.
Wellllll, my husband got a huge bonus, we paid all our credit cards off, and had enough left to pay cash for a 4/3pkg with dining.
We decided NOT to tell them because it was horrible to disappoint them the first time. And we think it will be fun to surprise them!

 

[momtoA&H]

We are going to surprise our DDs for their birthdays. Their birthdays are a week apart so we are throwing them a "surprise" birthday party May 2nd with a Disney theme. The family is giving them disney dollars and I got them each their own luggage. We leave Memorial Day weekend so they will have a few weeks to be excited. They keep asking when we can go so they will be so excited. I can hardly wait to tell them. It is my DD5 1st trip and she is in love with Ariel!!

 

[cheerforchelsea]

A few years back we surprised my granddaugher with a trip to WDW. We told her we were going a long way to see her cousin play football (she had been to several of his high school games) It was an 8 hour drive so luckily she slept a good portion of the trip. I asked everyone to help me look for the stadium....and the first thing she saw was a Disney Bus....she was so EXCITED!!!!

 

[magicallyDisney001]

I think it's a great idea! Especially at age 6, a surprise trip to Disney is the best! Personally, once I got older, however, I probably would NOT like surprises, probably because I took it upon myself to be the planner/organizer of the family. Age 6 is a great age to surprise her, though.

Make sure the luggage is already packed and out of sight! Also make sure she is wearing comfortable and airplane-appropriate clothes. Ask if she'd like to bring along a stuffed animal or a book; the "car ride" will be very long.

Upon arriving at the airport, have her wait in the car while you get something from the trunk. She will probably be very confused at this point. Hand her a piece of paper with something Disney-related on it. (ex. "Where Dreams Come True", picture of the famous castle, etc When she asks you about it, reappear with the luggage and say "We're going to Walt Disney World!"

Good luck, and have a great trip!

 

[here757]

heres a good one..
get in the car cuz i said lol
act upset then tell them lol

 

[weHEARTmickey]

I think we've decided on 30 days prior to the trip suprising the children with the call from Mickey and then letting them start to help plan the trip and earny disney dollars.

Ooooh, how do you get a call from Mickey? I would love to know!

......Plus I think I would like them to decide which character meals they want to go to this time.

We were concerned about this, also. So, we just asked them, "If you could go to WDW again, where would you want to eat the MOST?" (They think we're having to wait 2-3 years to go back.) Surprisingly, they didn't choose very many character meals. But, we booked what they chose, a couple of our regulars, & then threw a few new ones in the mix. Now comes the hard part....keeping it all a secret!!! I just LOVE to share my Disney plans & I hope I can hold it in.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

We are going to surprise our DDs for their birthdays. Their birthdays are a week apart so we are throwing them a "surprise" birthday party May 2nd with a Disney theme. The family is giving them disney dollars and I got them each their own luggage. We leave Memorial Day weekend so they will have a few weeks to be excited. They keep asking when we can go so they will be so excited. I can hardly wait to tell them. It is my DD5 1st trip and she is in love with Ariel!!

Have a great trip. Just a suggestion if you have a huge Ariel fan. Get to her Grotto slightly before the opening time. They usually open the Grotto a few minutes early and the line gets really long REALLY fast. Ariel usually ends up being one of the first characters we see to avoid that line.

 

[jewelmicky]

Well, my DD6 is truly growing up!

Our WDW package came in the mail on Sat...guess who happened to see the mailman coming and get to the box before I could? Yup, DD.

She sees the letter and I have to do some fast thinking! I say it is for her aunt who is planning a surprise trip for her cousins. She had it sent to our house so as not to ruin the surprise (glad she is still young enough not to wonder why it had my name on it.)

She, looks a little sad and says, "Ya, I knew it wasn't for us because Mama hasn't found a job yet....you think they would take me with them?" I didn't realize how observant she has gotten. My DP was layed off in Oct and still not able to find anything in Detroit are. I work full time, and make enough for mortgage, bills, etc. We will be fine...just no frills. This WDW trip was planned and payed for over 6 months ago...we decided to go, who knows when we will be able to go in the future.

Then, I said, "Wait a minute....u mean you would go without me or Mama?" She, looked at me....paused for sec....."But, Mommy.....it's DISNEY!"

Littel stinker..........now she will be REALLY surprised!